The present application finds particular application in patient imaging systems, particularly involving patient imaging devices used in conjunction with biocontainment and decontamination protocols. However, it will be appreciated that the described technique may also find application in other patient imaging systems, other biocontainment scenarios, or imaging techniques.
Magnetic resonance (MR) device manufacturers and third party MR coil suppliers have traditionally underserved the need to scan pediatric subjects. Such scanning is routinely performed making the best use of coils designed for adult use. These generally do not fit the subjects comfortably, require an expert technician to pad and fit the coil to the subject, and produce sub-optimal signal-to-noise ratio for the higher resolution imaging on small subjects. The problem has been viewed as intractable, because many coil variations in different sizes would be needed to fit children of different ages and sizes. The cost to develop and qualify a set of such coils is high, therefore the cost to the end customer is also high and the pediatric scanning market represents an orphan medical need. Further, the storage space for a large number of differently-sized coils at the MRI site is problematic.
Simple coils such as single loop planar conductor patterns have been long used in MR. Use of more than one loop coil in arrays is also known. Composite arrays that are pre-built into an integrated multi-element coil are known, and have been the standard commercial offering for the last 10 years or so. More often, these arrays are used to receive signal detection only, and other coils are used to perform the transmit function. A pre-built array is acceptable for a known anatomy and size, but it can be less than optimal for subject anatomies of other sizes, and may be completely incompatible when larger anatomies or larger subjects cannot fit into it. Existing pre-built arrays are not easily extensible, so providing new capabilities for different subjects can require an entire design cycle to make a new product. Each new configuration is often expensive to design and manufacture, and expensive to the end customer. This leaves the customer waiting for new designs, and once they become available, the customer bears the burden of purchasing the new pre-built array, storing it when it is not in use, learning any new unique performance characteristics or limitations, etc. Existing pre-built arrays are generally not suitable for rigorous decontamination, as would occur in the application of imaging or researching infectious disease.
Surface coils that are strapped to the patient are also known. Similarly, garments with built-in flexible coils have been proposed.
The present application provides new and improved scalable coil array construction systems and methods, which overcome the above-referenced problems and others.